"We thought that you were joking."
"Joking! Why should you imagine that?"
"We were joking."
"You were? Then I am to gather that I have been made the subject of a practical joke, and that I am an intruder here?"
"Well, it's quite true that we did not think you were in earnest. You see, it's this way, we're alone."
"Alone? Who are 'we'?"
"Well, it will take a good while to explain, and you look tired and cold."
"I am both."
"Perhaps you're hungry?"
"I am."